GM wheat is not commercialised anywhere in the world but, last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed a farmer from Oregon found illegal GM wheat plants in his field. This herbicide-tolerant wheat developed by the biotech transnational Monsanto to withstand direct application of Roundup was last authorised to be tested in open air fields in Oregon in 2001. It is uncertain how the contamination happened or if it is an isolated incident.
US wheat importers reacted strongly to this announcement. Japan cancelled a tender offer to buy US grain , South Korea Millers suspended imports of US wheat, Thailand put its ports on alert, the European Union urged its 27 Member States to test certain wheat shipments from the US while China and the Philippines are monitoring the situation.
